Despite some saltwater species seasons opening as of April 1 (blackfish and winter flounder in Connecticut, for example), most New England anglers have freshwater on their minds this time of year. There are some great options for holdover striped bass in every coastal state from Maine to Connecticut, but with much of that fishing takes place above the saltwater demarcation line I’ll call that “freshwater fishing” for my purposes here and add it into the freshwater fishing fever taking place right now. Two of the more popular target species locally include trout and carp, and both have some big events this coming weekend, both of which I plan to participate in on Saturday, April 8.
Trout fishing compromises much of the spring fishing interest in New England and this weekend ahead presents Opening Day in a handful of states. If trout is on your mind, here is a brief look at what is currently open and what will be opened soon:
2017 OPENING DAYS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC
Massachusetts: Open year-round
New York: Open year-round for rainbows and browns on Long Island
Delaware: Downstate March 4 and April 1 upstate
Maine: Open-water fishing begins April 1
New Jersey: April 8
Connecticut: April 8
Vermont: April 8
Rhode Island: April 8
New Hampshire: April 22
The North East Carp Conference 2017
Organized in association with the Carp Anglers Group (CAG), this is likely going to be a sell-out event attracting carp anglers from all over New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond. In addition to an amazing list of guest speakers and carp tackle vendors there will be a tag sale where you can buy, swap or sell carp tackle (space is limited so if you want to sell items please book early.) This will also be a great opportunity to meet fellow carp anglers as well as learn more about the tackle and techniques for catching these incredible sport fish. Advance ticket purchasers will also receive 10 free raffle tickets to use toward the door prizes.
The Conference takes place on Saturday, April 8, at the Elks Lodge, 44 Maynard St, Middletown, CT 06457 and runs from noon to 6 p.m. with doors open to visit the vendors and tag sale event from 10 a.m. to noon. Food and beverages will be available for purchase throughout the day. Advance tickets are $15 (just $5 for CAG members) and may be purchased online by visiting bit.ly/2017NECC. Tickets may also be purchased the day of the event at the door for $20 ($15 for CAG members) and attendees under the age of 16 are admitted free with a paid adult.
Entry into the Conference gets you access to the following and more:
- A HUGE tag sale – bring along your carp gear to sell or swap
- Clinics on rigging, bait and tactics
- The best bait and tackle vendors in the industry
- An “Expert Panel” Q&A forum with a live video link with one of the UKs top carp anglers
- Special Guest Speakers with talks from the top level carp anglers
- A slew of door prizes and bucket raffles with over $5000 worth of top tackle prizes
See you there!
